INDIANAPOLIS – Mike Braun will make a run at Indiana’s highest office.
The U.S. senator filed paperwork Wednesday morning signaling his intent to run for Indiana governor. The move would open up a Senate seat in 2024. Politico first reported about the filing.
“Mike Braun has filed his paperwork to run for governor and will be making an official announcement of his candidacy very soon,” said Josh Kelley, Braun’s chief of staff and senior political advisor, in a statement.
Braun won Indiana’s senate race in 2018, beating incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly in the general election after a tough Republican primary.
A Jasper native and graduate of Jasper High School, Braun rose to prominence as a businessman. He entered the political arena on the state level as a representative for Indiana District 63 from 2014 to 2017.
He then focused on the 2018 race for the Senate, defeating Todd Rokita and Luke Messer in the primary before going on to beat Donnelly.
He was sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2019, by Vice President Mike Pence.
Braun is running to replace Gov. Eric Holcomb, who can’t run for reelection after serving two consecutive terms as Indiana’s governor.
The Indiana Democratic Party responded with a statement:
As a so-called businessman, Mike Braun has done very little to improve Indiana as a U.S. senator and he surely won’t do it as governor. Braun’s half-hearted efforts have been ineffective, and he’s been more likely to be spotted on national cable TV shows than talking to Hoosiers in real life about solving real problems.
Time and time again, Braun rejected state economic investments, job creation programs for workers, and critical infrastructure projects – like broadband – needed to create a better future for Hoosier families and the state’s overall fiscal and public health.
What’s worse, Braun supports a form of extremism that was soundly rejected in the U.S. Senate just last night through The Respect for Marriage Act and his stances on social issues are out of step with the majority of Hoosiers. The Senator’s dangerous record – which also includes inciting an insurrection against our country – would be grounds to earn a pink slip in any other line of work.
A Mike Braun administration would do nothing to improve the state’s dismal quality-of-life, workforce, and education rankings, and coming up on 20 years of Republican state administrations, Hoosiers deserve honest leadership that will put an end to extremist politics and chart a course for a modern and better Indiana where everyone has the freedom to thrive.
